Overview

• Brad Sigmon, a 67-year-old death row inmate in South Carolina, is set to be executed by firing squad, marking the first use of this method in the U.S. since 2010.
• Sigmon was convicted in 2002 for the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend's parents and an attempted abduction of his ex-partner.
• South Carolina law mandates the electric chair as the default execution method but allows inmates to choose between lethal injection, firing squad, or the chair.
• Sigmon's attorneys argue he faced a 'cruel choice' between outdated and inhumane options, citing issues with prolonged deaths in recent lethal injections.
• This execution highlights ongoing debates over the ethics and methods of capital punishment in the U.S., with 23 states having abolished the death penalty and six others observing moratoriums.